For many, moving to the Caribbean conjures visions of serene beaches and easy living. For Mar Echevarria, a UN Volunteer and Gender and Development Specialist, it meant something far deeper—a chance to create impact from the ground up. Arriving in July 2024, Mar embraced a professional calling: to build what didn’t exist. Her defining moment? Throwing open the doors—literally and figuratively—of the UN Women office in Antigua and Barbuda. Mar is from Spain and her volunteer assignment is funded by her home country.
“The main office for the Caribbean Multi-country Office is in Barbados; however, my duty station is on another island that was previously only supported remotely,” Mar explains. “My biggest accomplishment has been to set up the office and increase visibility for the agency in this small island country.” Her work signals more than an office launch—it’s a bold stride toward amplifying UN Women’s voice where it matters most.
This foundational work is just the beginning. Now, as UN Women's in-country focal point, Mar serves as the vital link connecting global initiatives to local progress. Her days reflect this role, blending high-level strategy with grassroots impact.
In June 2025, in St. John’s, Mar participated in the Private Sector Engagement in Antigua and Barbuda, alongside over 30 representatives from private sector companies, government officials, and United Nations representatives. Centered on the theme “Private Sector Partnership for Sustainable Development,” Mar showcased UN Women’s collaboration with businesses through the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles—a framework established by UN Women and the UN Global Compact, which lays out clear steps for creating workplaces, marketplaces, and communities where women thrive. It is rooted in global labour and human rights standards, and champions equal pay, builds gender-smart supply chains, and enforces zero tolerance for harassment.
“Investing in and empowering women's leadership taps into the skills and innovation of all employees,” Mar shared at the forum. “It benefits the bottom line and contributes to the overall economic and social growth of the entire region.”
UN Women is collaborating with women entrepreneurs in Antigua and Barbuda, offering training in business development and expansion through the Joint SDG Fund initiative, “Optimizing Finance for Underserved Groups.” Led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the initiative enables UN Women to support public and private financial institutions in applying a gender lens to their services. This approach addresses the social norms and risk profiles that often lead women to self-exclude from accessing vital capital for their businesses.
Before joining Antigua, Mar worked as an EU Aid Volunteer Gender Specialist, serving in field offices across Guatemala, Senegal, and the South Caucasus. Building on this experience, Mar became a Gender Consultant with the World Food Programme (WFP), contributing both at WFP headquarters in Rome and during a mission focused on gender analysis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Additionally, Mar served as a Gender Equality Advisor for Ukrainian refugees with Mercy Corps, providing strategic guidance to ensure inclusive and equitable humanitarian responses.
With extensive experience in gender advocacy, Mar serves as a UN Volunteer with purpose—working directly with communities to amplify women’s voices and create opportunities for economic and social empowerment.
Volunteering, for Mar, means taking concrete steps: supporting local initiatives in Antigua and Barbuda so equality isn’t just a goal, but a lived reality.
